M-S Schools Foundation 2025 Hall of Fame Class
Kyle Kimme 1997
Doug Parrett 1969
Joe Sapp 2003
Wendy Wagner Pierce 2001
Induction date: Friday, Sept.19, 2025
By FRED KRONER
Wendy Wagner Pierce began looking to her future while still in high school at Mahomet-Seymour.
“I enlisted in the Army at 17 between my junior and senior year,” says Wagner Pierce, the M-S salutatorian for the Class of 2001. “I trained one weekend a month during senior year and sometimes missed sports for drill weekends.
“My coaches were always supportive. I later received a four-year Army ROTC scholarship to the University of Illinois, where I commissioned as an officer.”
Her journey began in the summer of 2000. Wagner Pierce’s life would change profoundly 15 months later and not just because she had her high school diploma.
One of seven children, she originally viewed the Army as a way to receive a college education. It led to so much more.
A former two-sport athlete for the Bulldogs (basketball and soccer), Wagner Pierce will be one of four inductees into the Mahomet-Seymour Schools Foundation Hall of Fame on Sept. 19.
“I grew up with few resources, so joining the Army was a means to pay for college, and I was amenable to joining, with my parents’ encouragement and permission,” Wagner Pierce says. “I did want to serve my country as well, but that wasn’t my primary motive.
“None of my immediate family served in the military when I joined, but over time, my sister and a few cousins joined. I joined before 9/11, and the Army quickly changed from a peacetime Army to a wartime Army on that day.”
Following the terrorist attacks on our nation, the mindset of those in the armed forces were redirected.
“After 9/11, there was a strong sense of purpose and a great weight to everything that you did,” Wagner Pierce says. “Every training, every exercise, every mission on deployment, you wanted to make the right decisions and do the best you can because your fellow soldiers’ lives depended on it.”
Now a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve, with 25 years of service, Wagner Pierce never had any regrets about her career path.
“I never imagined I’d be a good soldier, but over time, I discovered I had the qualities to succeed – resilience, athleticism, discipline and an eagerness to learn,” she says. “Quickly, I began to love being a soldier. I take great pride in wearing the uniform and serving my country.
“It’s not an easy path in life, by any means, but it’s been a great experience that I would do again.”
While serving and protecting, Wagner has found herself in the face of danger.
She received a Bronze Star for her combat service in Baghdad.
“I led a platoon through high-risk security operations and supported the closure of Abu Ghraib prison,” Wagner Pierce says. “As the platoon leader, I get all the credit, but it was 100 percent a team effort throughout that year-long deployment.”
She also received a Combat Action Badge, which she says “was awarded after my vehicle was attacked by Russian grenades while on a mission to train Iraqi police.”
Travel has been a part of her life since she enlisted.
She has lived in four other countries – Germany, Iraq, Kuwait and England – as well as seven U.S. states (Washington, Texas, Missouri, Arizona, Hawaii, Washington, D.C., and Illinois).
This from a person who describes her childhood as “very sheltered.”
“It has been an amazing adventure,” Wagner Pierce says. “I had never been on an airplane before joining the Army, but soon after, I was jumping out of airplanes.
“At 21, I went to training in Washington state and then Missouri, where I became a military police officer.”
Her first duty station was in Germany, where she trained for nine months and then deployed to Baghdad as a platoon leader with 32 soldiers.
“I returned from that deployment and was stationed at Fort Cavazos, Texas, before deploying again to Mosul, Iraq, as a trainer of Iraqi police,” she says.
Along the way, she met – and fell love with – a man who grew up less than 20 miles from her hometown.
“After that deployment (to Mosul), I married my husband, Lt. Col. Jacob Pierce of Rantoul, and served as the provost marshal for the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division,” Wagner Pierce says.
The couple did not know each other as teen-agers, but – ironically – met in Champaign County.
“We were both home for Christmas and met in Champaign,” Wagner Pierce says.
At the time, they were each stationed at Fort Cavazos, and, she says, “we started dating there.”
Wendy Wagner Pierce left active duty after seven years and transferred to the Army Reserve. Subsequently, she followed her husband’s career to Washington, D.C., Hawaii, England and back to Illinois.
“During that time, I held roles including military police chief, battalion operations officer, battalion executive officer, Command and General Staff Officer Course instructor and battalion commander.”
As an Army Reserve Battalion Commander, in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Wagner Pierce was in charge of 856 soldiers.
The experience was a daunting one.
“It’s a huge responsibility and incredibly humbling,” she says. “You carry the weight of their well-being and readiness.
“The Army has a structure that helps distribute leadership through the ranks, but ultimately, the care and decisions fall on the commander. It’s emotionally and mentally intense.”
Her husband retired from active duty in October, 2023, as a Lt. Col. They remained in Chicago to raise their children, Jack (12) and Stella (10).
In her down time, Wendy Wagner Pierce has earned four post-high school degrees:
— B.S. in Kinesiology, University of Illinois (2004);
— Master of Public Health, University of Illinois-Chicago (2012);
— B.S. in Nursing, University of Hawaii (2014);
— M.S. in Nursing, Northern Illinois University (2023).
Currently, Wagner Pierce serves as a palliative care nurse practitioner, coaches school sports, and instructs in the Army Reserve.
“Balancing these roles is demanding, but I’m fortunate to have a supportive partner who shares the responsibilities of raising our two children,” she says. “My employer is understanding about my military commitments, which helps make it all work.
“While I’ve missed more of my children’s milestones than I’d like, serving my country remains a deeply important part of my life, and I’m grateful for the support system that makes it possible.”
Wagner Pierce has been a mover and shaker who strongly advocates for women. One of her proudest accomplishments is an initiative she started nine years ago.
“In 2016, I founded the Army Reserve Components Women Officers Mentorship Group to support female leaders,” Wagner Pierce says. “We lose many female leaders after their first term of enlistment.
“What started with just me has grown to over 3,700 women around the world – from lieutenants to three-star generals.
“Seeing it grow has been one of the proudest moments of my career.”
Wagner Pierce takes great delight in the accomplishments and achievements of others.
“The greatest impact that you leave in your lifetime is those whom you coach, teach and mentor,” she says. “True leadership is about developing others to go further than you did.
“The mentorship mentality is not always done by those in leadership positions because it takes more time and effort than your normal workload. It is one of the greatest joys to watch one of your players or subordinates thrive.”
One of Wagner Pierce’s closest friends from the Army is Lt. Col. Gwen Opel, who was impressed from their initial meeting.
“I consider myself one who works harder than others,” Opel says, “but she works harder than me.
“She is determined, savvy, resourceful and a hard-charger. She is always willing to make something out of nothing and work harder than everyone else.”
When Wagner Pierce organized the Army Reserve Components Women Officers Mentorship Group, Opel was supportive.
“I was one of the first members,” she says. “It has made an impact service-wide. It’s a safe place for women’s officials.
“I’ve been part of that fight and it has been quite a journey.”
Wagner Pierce is not one to toot her own horn and willingly works behind the scenes without seeking credit.
“She is deeply caring for others,” Opel says. “She finds ways to connect with people. She helps refugees and donates clothes and food.
“She understands that people matter and shows empathy that is in short order today.”
Before Opel knew Wagner Pierce, she knew her husband.
“We were in ROTC at Southern Illinois and graduated together,” Open recalls. “I met Wendy when they moved to the UK (in 2014) and we became friends and integral parts of each other’s lives.
“She is one of my deeply trusted confidants.”
As an athlete at M-S, Wagner Pierce established a name for herself.
She had a short fling with soccer in the youth leagues, but remembers, “I played youth soccer briefly but lost interest. At 5, I was more interested in doing cartwheels in goal than playing seriously.”
Even so, Wagner Pierce led a far from inactive childhood.
“With four brothers and two sisters, sports were a big part of growing up,” she says. “We all played everything. I did gymnastics, baseball, basketball, football and soccer.”
She rejoined the sport of soccer in high school as the fledgling M-S varsity program was getting its feet. The Bulldogs’ girls’ soccer program was in its second year of existence when Wagner Pierce was a freshman.
“Many of us were still learning the fundamentals, but it was an incredible experience,” Wagner Pierce says. “I dabbled in goalkeeping early on but committed to the position sophomore year.”
By the time she graduated, she was among the all-time IHSA leaders in two categories. As a junior, she had 44 saves in a match, which was second in the IHSA record books at the time and stands fifth now.
As a senior, she posted 280 saves, then the third-best IHSA total. She now ranks 15th in the all-time IHSA record book.
“Although I was initially unsure, my coaches and teammates encouraged me,” Wagner Pierce says. “Playing goalie helped me develop confidence, composure and mental toughness. I simply loved the game.”
Her save totals as a senior bordered on the remarkable.
“I broke my elbow mid-season, but was determined to continue playing,” she recalls. “I switched to forward and somehow convinced my coach to let me play – sling and all.”
She not only led the 7-11-2 team in saves that spring, but also in goals, “a unique combination I’m proud of,” she adds.
The Bulldogs won 17 total soccer matches during her prep career under the guidance of the late Brooke Crawmer Joseph.
Basketball was another of Wagner Pierce’s passions.
“I was an average basketball player, but I loved the game,” she says.
Her foray into sports proved valuable as she reached adulthood.
“Sports taught me the value of leadership, hard work, perseverance and trusting in training,” Wagner Pierce says. “As a goalkeeper, I learned to lead on the field – skills that have translated well to the military, healthcare and beyond.
“High school sports built my work ethic and taught me to finish tasks without prompting, a trait valued in any profession. Repetition in sports also taught me the power of muscle memory, which carries over to instinctive performance in military tactics.”
Playing a key role during her impressionable high school years were many of the faculty members at M-S.
“I would like to give a shoutout to the wonderful, kind, and capable teachers at M-S HS,” Wagner Pierce says. “My home life growing up was chaotic, but I always felt safe and listened to by them.
“Many of the accomplishments that I have today are a direct result of the foundational education I received at M-S HS. They pushed me to succeed academically and in sports and I am very grateful for that.”
She also credits her brothers and sisters.
“My siblings and close friends also shaped who I became,” Wagner Pierce says. “My younger siblings would not be a conventional choice, but they are impactful. I served as a parental figure for my younger siblings.
“My siblings made me make better choices because they were always watching what I was doing. I may have led the way, but they pushed me to be the best leader for them.”
Wagner Pierce is humbled to receive the Hall of Fame recognition.
“This honor reflects the values I’ve tried to live by – respect, duty, loyalty, selfless service, integrity and personal courage,” she says, “all of which align with the Army values I’ve lived by for the past 25 years.
“Above all, I value family most.”
